I am worried about my grandchildren’s future

Yesterday, I had a bad dream, not a nightmare, but an experience based on what is really happening today (slowly but gradually) and an experience I do not wish for the future generation. In the dream, I was older. My hair was grey, my movements were slower, but my heart was calm (alhamdulilah). I was sitting in a garden, surrounded by my grandchildren.
I was carrying on my habit of reading a personal development book when one of my grandchildren asked a simple question about the sky. Before I could answer, another child pulled up a smartphone and said, “Let me ask AI”. Another grandchild wanted to tell a story but stopped midway and said, “Wait, the AI can finish it better”.
I remember smiling in the dream, trying to enjoy the moment with my grandchildren. Nevertheless, something felt wrong inside of me. It wasn’t about how impressive the technology was or how careless and dependent my grandchildren were, but rather how their minds were no longer needed. That was unpleasant, to be honest and that is the basis of my article today.
I am concerned about the future of my grandchildren (and the entire generation, to be precise). When I woke up (later in the same day), I shared the dream with Daniya (my daughter). I expected her to reassure me or tell me I was overthinking things. Instead, she paused and then agreed. She told me that what I described doesn’t feel like the future to her; it feels like the present. She explained that she, along with almost every friend and classmate she knows, uses AI for almost everything: studying, writing, understanding lessons, preparing assignments and even figuring out how to phrase messages.
Not because they are lazy, but because it has become normal. Her feedback on my dream made me realise that the future is getting closer and at an unfortunately rapid speed. The shift isn’t coming; the shift is almost here.
I am a technologist. I believe deeply in innovation and progress. I understand artificial intelligence, its architecture, its capabilities and its limitations. I have seen how AI can transform industries, accelerate research and improve lives.
That is precisely why my worry is not reactionary or emotional. It is informed. My concern is not that AI will turn against us, replace humanity, or reduce/eliminate jobs. Not really! My concern is more about what happens to a generation that grows up never needing to think deeply, struggle patiently, or imagine freely. Every generation has benefitted from tools that made life easier.
Calculators reduced mental math. Search engines replaced memorisation. GPS weakened our sense of direction. But AI crosses a new line. For the first time, technology doesn’t just assist thinking; it in fact performs it too. Children today can ask AI to solve problems, write essays, summarise books, generate ideas and even decide what the “best” answer is. The danger is not using AI. The danger is using it first, always and without reflection. In my dream, my grandchildren weren’t lazy but were very dependent on AI for almost everything.
One of the greatest risks AI introduces is the illusion of intelligence. When an AI produces fluent, confident answers, it feels like understanding. The person receiving it mostly doesn’t process, question, or verify it, yet believes everything that AI produces as a response to the input (question) given.
Over time, constant reliance weakens critical thinking, curiosity and independent problem-solving. Mental muscles, like physical ones, deteriorate when they are no longer used. If my grandchildren grow up in a world where answers are instant and effort is optional, will they know how to cope when life doesn’t provide a prompt?
To conclude my article for this week, let me emphasise that I am not against AI’s revolution. AI is one of the most powerful tools humanity has ever created.
However, it must be introduced with intention, boundaries and responsibility, especially if we want a bright future for the younger generations. We must teach and encourage them to think, struggle, ask questions, make mistakes and not be totally reliant on machines.